There are three kinds of Dharma practitioners, who can be categorized asfollows:

1. Ordinary kind of practitioners—they practice the Dharma in order toachieve happiness in this life. Such a practitioner still has the confidencethat there is indeed happiness in samsara.2. Medium kind of practitioners—they practice the Dharma in order to attainArhat-hood for their own release from samsara, while there are still manysentient beings suffering in samsara.3. Excellent kind of practitioners—they are the ones who practice for the sakeof helping all sentient beings attain enlightenment. They practice not only fortheir own liberation but also for that of others.

Depending on the vastness of the individual level of motivation, these threekinds of practitioners appear. For instance, if a practitioner recites theAvalokiteshvara mantra "Om Mani Padme Hung" for his own happiness, he thus fallsinto the category of "Ordinary Practitioner." Similarly, a "Medium Practitioner"will recite the mantra for his own liberation and an "Excellent Practitioner"will recite the mantra for the liberation of all sentient beings.